Woodlot Bakery & Restaurant Restaurant Review

: This open-feeling spot is surprisingly warm, given it was once an auto body shop. The friendly, urban lumberjack vibe is created by laid-back servers in plaid shirts, tuques and jeans. What's more the kitchen is exposed, showcasing the restaurant's centerpiece: an enormous, maple-wood-burning brick oven with ten-inch-thick walls, where several kinds of sourdough are baked each morning. Sacks of Canadian flour are stacked in the open kitchen, while wall shelves display other cooking ingredients in bottles, cans and bags. The general din --- which includes owner David Haman shouting diners’ orders to the waitstaff --- is met by innovative, comforting dishes, like French onion soup; crab salad with apple, cabbage and fennel; and local, grass-fed planked steak that gives Alberta beef a run for its money. Vegetable dishes --- Brussels sprouts with bacon and juniper or artichokes with orange and ginger --- are complex and interesting, too. Then again, we like the Yukon Gold potato loaf with onion and cheddar. For vegetarians, a separate menu includes pasta and tempeh. Among the dessert and cheese selections, try the hazelnut-chocolate mousse with orange zest. Wines are from Ontario, France, Italy and Georgia. Also, single malts, spirits and beer are available in the cozy first-floor bar.